A arquitetura tradicional de Acari no século XIX: estudo comparativo entre a casa-grande de fazenda e a casa urbana

Abstract

Acari’s nineteenth century farm and town houses may be considered as one of the most relevant and well-preserved ensembles of vernacular architecture in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. However, some of its most representative buildings have been undergoing successive mutilations in recent times. Therefore, this important architectural heritage is now at imminent risk of disappearance. Such acknowledgment has motivated the present dissertation that aims to shed light on an architectural object still unsatisfactorily studied by investigating: (1) whether the remaining ensemble outline an architectural parti defined by a set of recurrent formal and material building categories; and (2) whether that set of categories outline distinct rural and urban types. The investigated data comprise a sample of twenty-four cases (12 rural and 12 urban) that were recorded and examined according to a set of formal and constructive analytical categories. Records include: architectural measurements (plans, sections and elevations); annotation of building materiais; historie data (whenever available); and extensive photographic representation of present remains. Analysis focus on: the relationship between buildings and their sites; form of the building shells and their constituent elements; requirements brief; spatial arrangement and configuration; and applied materiais and building techniques. The analysis demonstrates that although a few specific aspects appear mainly or uniquely in farm houses while others associate chiefly or are to be found only in town houses, common features predominate by and large. This has led to the conclusion that the region’s nineteenth century vernacular buildings - be them of rural or urban origin - define one same architectural parti.